[ I N - D E P T H
“The main
attraction
is often the
opportunity
to disrupt the
market with
an impactful
new business
model.”
HUGH HUGHES, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, KOINE
has really changed. But the ability to inno-
vate and make a difference to an industry
or organisation is now paramount to the
professional desires of the upper echelon
of world talent. If this is important to an
individual, then working in an organisa-
tion among hundreds of thousands of oth-
ers may be less appealing that tens of staff
at a start-up. As Liang says, you’re much
more likely to make an impact in a new
firm than in an age-old institution with
constraints, hierarchy and long-standing
legacy systems and procedures.
When you think of innovation within
securities services, few projects stand-
out, and those that do have taken years
to come to fruition. Yes, there are more
proof of concepts and projects in low-risk
areas of the business but relative to the
number of employees within these organ-
isations, this is comparatively slow to the
world of FinTechs.
stand why securities experts are tempted
to contribute their very relevant experi-
ence to a start-up offering digital assets
custody, derivative or OTC trading.”
Custodian banks are up there with some
of the world’s most reputable employers
and have spent decades being able to at-
tract the best candidates due to the nature
of the work, compensation and working
in such a high-profile sector. None of this
A sense of frustration
Digitisation and blockchain overhauls are
long and arduous projects within banks,
which will appease some innovators at
the top levels of custodian banks, but op-
portunities rarely filter down through the
ranks. Meanwhile artificial intelligence,
machine learning, robotic process auto-
mation and distributed ledger technology
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P E O P L E
M O V E S ]
all hold major potential to transform the
industry, though little of this innovation is
coming from within incumbent organi-
sations. Instead, the work is occurring at
external FinTech companies who are then
rolling the technologies out to custodian
banks.
While securities services providers are
not shy to admit they are partnering with
these firms to implement their solutions,
it does mean that any of their entrepre-
neurial or innovative employees may see
their skills having a larger impact outside
of their current place of work. Ironically,
they may even end up selling these solu-
tions back to their previous employers
at some point. And without a doubt, Fin-
Tech and digital asset founders are keen
to get their hands on these experienced
executives who can combine their knowl-
edge of the inner workings of the industry
with the technological capabilities of
those looking to disrupt the industry.
“Having discussed with peers who had
made the same move, most of the time,
the decision was taken out of frustration
about the speed at which their incumbent
employers were moving towards what
they believe the future is,” adds Kech.
“Sometimes, it is also linked to an
opportunity popping up, a message from
a head-hunter in your LinkedIn mailbox
matching perfectly with a moment in
your career and life, or a personal interest
you have.”
Securities services experts in demand
David Nable is a fund services expert
with ample experience from some of the
world’s largest organisations – namely,
Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and BNP
Paribas. After over a decade of senior
roles within the fund administration and
prime brokerage teams of these major
banks, he decided to trade in the big
names for big potential, joining FinTech
provider Arcesium in February 2016.
Arcesium was only set up in 2014 but in
their relatively short lifespan, they have
cemented themselves on the FinTech
radar, earning a large chunk of business
from JP Morgan and then, consequently,
an investment.
“Capital from banks and VCs are fund-
ing hundreds of firms in the FinTech
space,” says Nable. “These FinTechs, flush
with capital from their Series N, round
are hiring and banks, custodians and asset
managers are great sources of talent with
specific domain expertise.”
Spring 2020
globalcustodian.com
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